Filler feed control mechanism for cigar machines



Jan. 26, 1954 s. CLAUSEN ET AL 2,667,171

FILLER FEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR CIGAR MACHINES Filed Nov. 18, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.1

INVENTOR SIGURD CLAUSEN BY JOSEPH A.'NEUMA|R ORNEY I Jan. 26, 1954 s. CLAUSEN ET AL 2,667,171

FILLER FEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR CIGAR MACHINES Filed Nov. 18, 1949 56 24104 FIG. 2

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 22 FIG. 5

*I 152 f "if" E u/ 11 i 1w SIGURD CLAUSEN Y JOSEPH A. NEUMAIR J06 r M n 4 W 122 24 32 1/6 TTORNEY INVENTOR JQ4 III l :5

Patented Jan. 26, 1954 FILLER FEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR CIGAR MACHINES Sigurd Clausen, Brooklyn, and Joseph A. Neum air, Hollis N. Y., assign'ors to International Cigar Machinery 00., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 18, 1949, Serial No. 128,076

12 Claims. 1

This invention relates to tobacco feeds for cigar machines and particularly to controls for such feeds where a predetermined length of a stream of tobacco is fed to a measuring chamber by means of intermittently moving conveyor belts that form the channel of the cross feed, the channel usually consisting of two side belts and a bottom belt.

It is an object of this invention to attain greater uniformity of bunch lengths by a more accurate method of producing uniform charge lengths. The cross feed methods employed heretofore resulted in occasional short or long charge lengths which produced inferior bunch lengths or seconds. The former methods employed a reciprocating cam lever drive. When there was a greater (or less) than normal resistance in the cross feed conveyor, said lever and its intermediate linkages yielded in such a fashion that a short or long charge length resulted. In order to overcome this, it is: an object of this invention to devise a crank or rotary motion for the reciprocating motion heretofore employed. By employing a crank-like motion the length of the feeding stroke becomes a function of diameter or center to center distance which does not vary materially as a result of stresses or strains or play in the linkages.

It is a further object of this invention to employ suitable means for maintaining this: more accurate feed achieved by the rotary motion. The natural tendency of the belt. to relieve itself of the stress imposed upon it during the forward feeding motion causes a slight backward movement when said belt comes to rest. This tends to vary the length of the subsequent charge. It is therefore a further object of this invention to employ means whereby the drive pulley of the conveyor is. maintainedagainst the tension of the belt in the exact position at which it stopped. Thus uniformity in charge length is maintained.

Another object of'this invention is to accurately synchronize the movements of the driving means with the movements of the arresting means.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a suitable means for omitting or skipping the charge feed when there is a sufficient height of charge lengths in the charge storage chamber as meaured by the charge storage plunger.

Still another object'is to engage the feed pawls while they are at rest to prevent a jerking motion and lessen wear and/or breakage of the pawls and ratchet wheel- With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations which will be hereinafter fully described;

In the accompanying drawings, which form a able idler rollers 20. 'a horizontal drive shaft 22 which is supported in part of this-specification and in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the invention and I contiguousparts of a cigar machine;

Fig. 2 is a partial end elevation taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial end elevation of the feeding pawl arrangement taken on line i l of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a partial plan view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

With reference to Fig. 1, the bottom belt ['2 of the cross feed channel C is supported on a plate It secured to the top portion of a suitable frame it. Said belt is driven intermittently by means of a pulley l8 and is guided over suit- Pulley I8 is mounted on suitable bearings of frame 16. Also secured to shaft 22 is a ratchet wheel 24 (Figs. 1 and 2) which is intermittently rotated through the engagement of one of pawls 28 (Figs. 1 and 4) which are pivotally mounted on a stud 28 secured in the free end of an arm 39 of a bell crank lever 32 loosely mounted on shaft 22. Bell crank lever 32 also has two other integral arms 3% and 36'.

The free end of arm 34' supports post 38 to which are anchored tension springs 20 to hold pawls 26 in engagement with ratchet wheel 2:; during the feeding operation Pivotally connected to the free end of arm 35 is one end of an adjustable connecting rod id, while the other end st of said rod 44 is pivoted to a bushing 18 which surrounds a sleeve 5s encircling a stud which is an integral part and projects from a T-shaped block 54. The latter is slidably mounted in a slot 56 of the crank lever arm 58 which is rigidly secured to a gear 69 loosely mounted on a stud 62 held by a suitable lug on the main frame of the cigar machine (not. shown). Member 54' is clamped to crank lever arm 58 by means of a nut 65' that holds sleeve 59 against aspacer washer 658 which in turn transmits the clamping action of said nut onto the front face of crank arm 58', while the rear face of the latter is engaged by the flanged head end 68 of block 54, thus forming a rigid crank pin to which the lower end es of connecting rod 44 is pivoted at bushing 48. The lower end 35 of connecting rod 44, of course, is slightly narrower than sleeve 58 so that it may rotate freely on bushing 68.

Block 54 is also provided with a vertical threaded hole which engages with a vertical spindle if], the bottom portion of which is loosely mounted in suitable bearings of lever 58, while the top portion of said spindle isv supported by and projects from a cap 1'2 secured to the free end of crank lever 58. The projecting end of spindle 70 carries a knurled knob M which permits turning of said spindle after loosening nut 64 of stud 52, which will effect an up or down movement of block 54 in slot 56 of crank arm 58. The type of mounting as described and as shown in Fig. 3, insures that member 54 will be rigidly secured to crank lever arm 53 without exerting any strain on screw 10' which provides a means for making fine adjustments.

Referring to Fig. l, the various parts as shown are in a position ready to feed a predetermined length of the tobacco ribbon onto a suitable platform 300 above a storage or measuring chamber M. Said feeding commences when the gear 60 is rotated by a gear segment I6 secured to a shaft i8 which in turn is actuated by means of a cam lever 80 mounted on said shaft I8. Cam lever 80 in its free end carries a cam roller 82 engaging a cam track 84 of a cam 86 secured to a shaft 08 which is driven continuously in timed relation with the cigar machine.

Since pawls 26 on arm 30 at that moment are in engagement with the teeth of ratchet wheel 24, counter-clockwise rotation of gear 60 causes the ratchet wheel to rotate in a clockwise direction which, through shaft 22 and pulley I8, effects a feed movement of belt I2 in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1. The length of tobacco charge fed onto the platform 300, of course, is determined by the stroke of the connecting rod 44. Said stroke may be varied by loosening nut 64 and turning knob "I l to adjust member 54 closer or further away from shaft 62 to provide a shorter or longer stroke as desired. Nut 64 is then tightened to secure the selected setting.

Double lever 50 pivoted on a stud 98 of frame I8 carries a pin 92 mounted on one arm 94. Pivoted to the other arm I02 by pin I is a link I04 whose other end is provided with a slot I06 engaging pin I08 on one end of release arm H0 pivoted in a horizontal portion of a feed pawl disengaging arm II4.

Arm IE4 is loosely mounted on a stud IIB of frame I6. The other end of release arm IIO carries a pin I I8 which protrudes through a hole I20 piercing each of a plurality of locking pawls I22 which are also pivoted on stud I I6. Conveniently, a spacer I23 (Fig. is provided to separate lock pawls I22 from feed pawl disengaging arm H4.

In operation, as connecting rod 44 nears the end of its feed stroke, a pin 90 mounted in the hub of double lever 32 contacts a pin 92 of arm 94, thereby rotating double lever 96. This causes link I04 to rise, releasing arm IIO which then permits locking pawls I22 to fall into engagement with ratchet wheel 24. This, of course, arrests the belts of the cross feed channel and also prevents the natural elasticity of the belt to move it slightly backward when the forward strain is released. Thus, variations in the subsequent lengths of tobacco charges fed over platform 300 are prevented and the uniformity of the predetermined charge lengths of each feeding operation are assured. Pawls I22 are slightly staggered for the purpose of quickly engaging the ratchet wheel 24 at the end of the feed stroke, i. c., one of the pawls is always in line with the teeth of the ratchet wheel.

Double lever 96 also has another arm I24, the end of which carries a square pin I26 (Figs. 1 and 2). As shown in Fig. 1, one face of the square pin is resting against a pin I28 which is held in frame I6. When, at the end of the feed stroke, double lever 96 assumes the position described above, pin I20 moves away from pin I28 and a lock arm I30 swings about a stud I32 until the bottom face of lock arm I30 contacts pin I28 and the end face of said lock arm comes to rest directly behind square pin I26. Lock arm I30 is actuated at this time by means of tension spring I34 connected thereon by means of a post I36 carried by said arm I30. The other end of said spring is anchored to a post I38 held in frame I6.

At the finish of the feed stroke double lever 32 and the therewith connected mechanisms dwell. During this dwell, a toggle mechanism P actuates a horizontal pressure foot I44 which bears down upon the ribbon-like stream of tobacco in the cross feed channel C while at the same time the horizontal platform 300, which covers the measuring chamber M and upon which the predetermined length of tobacco ribbon was fed, is moved out of the way to permit a downward moving corrugated cutter I40 to sever the predetermined charge length of the tobacco ribbon T. A descending measuring plunger I40, slightly trailing behind said cutter I46 pushes the severed length of tobacco into the storage measuring chamber M. The horizontal pressure foot I44 mentioned above is secured to the bottom portion of a vertical shaft 142 to which is mounted 2. lug I40. To the latter is pivoted the abovementioned toggle mechanism P which through a link I4I is actuated by a suitable operating mechanism (not shown) of the cigar machine. The toggle mechanism P, the pressure foot I44, the corrugated cutter I46 as well as the measuring plunger I48, platform 300 and the measuring chamber M are of identical construction as the ones shown and described in Burning Patent 2,470,766, and therefore need not be further described.

To lug I40, which is similar to the [lug] 238 in said Durning Patent 2,470,766, is secured a plate I50 to which is pivotally mounted one end of an adjustable rod I52, while the other end of said rod is loosely mounted to the end of feed pawl disengaging arm H4. As lug I40 descends, rod I52 makes arm II4 swing about stud I I6 so that a cam portion I54, at the opposite end of arm I I4, is in the path of a feed pawl disengaging pin I56. Since arm I I0 is pivotally mounted on pawl disengaging arm II4, link I04 is provided with a slot I06 to permit arm IIO to move freely in said slot when rod I52 rocks arm H4 about stud i I6. Just prior to the full descent of measuring plunger I48, cam 86 and the linkages previously described, cause double lever 32 to return to its starting position. During the return motion of the latter, pin I56, which is mounted in a U- shaped member I58 and passes through a hole I in each of the pawls 26, contacts the curved cam portion I54 of arm H4 and raises pawls 26 out of engagement with ratchet wheel 24. Member I58 is loosely supported by stud 28 which is carried by arm 30 of lever 32. Since U-shaped member I58 is pivotally mounted, the raising of pawls 26 upon the return stroke when pin I56 rides up on the cam portion I54 of arm II4, causes said member to swing in such a manner as to effect an engagement of the bridge portion I59 of U-shaped member with a lock finger 6I. The latter is employed for the purpose of keeping the pawls 26 out of contact with the ratchet wheel 24, thus eliminating undesired wear and noise. Lock finger I6I is pivoted on a pin I62 held by a suitable boss of arm 30 and is provided with a spring I64 suitably supportedin arm 30 and acting upon finger I 6 I. To the latter is also secured a control plate I92 which projects from finger I6I and which is employed for the purpose of effecting the release of U -shaped member I58 from lack finger I GI. and consequently permitting pawls 26 to re-engage' the ratchet wheel 24 when pawls 26 reach the end of. their return stroke, thus making them ready for the next feed stroke in the following cycle of the machine. The disengagement of lock finger I6I from member I58 is caused. when control plate I92 rides upon. and. contacts an L-shaped.

member I99 when arm 30 and pawls 26. reach the end of their return stroke. The L-shaped member I99 is carried by the arm 94. and extends into the path of platev I92 when returning witharmsfl.

However, if a sufficient. amount of tobacco is in the measuring chamber M, the L-shapedimember I90 is held out of the path of control plate- I92 and lock finger I6I is not tripped but stays in engagement with U-shaped member I58 which in turn causes pawls 26 to stay in raised position and out of engagement with ratchet wheel 24 so that during the next feed stroke imposed upon arm 30 the ratchet Wheel 24 is not actuated and' the cross feed remains arrested and no tobacco is fed onto the platform 300 during that cycle at the end of which the lock finger I6I may or may not be tripped, depending on the amount. of tobacco in the measuring chamber.

The amount or height of the tobacco column in the chamber M (Fig. 1) is measured or tested by the vertically reciprocating measuring plunger I48. which is secured to the bottom end of avertical spring mounted and cam operated shaft I 6 6 which is of the same construction and operated in the same manner as the one disclosed in Durning Patent 2,470,766. The height of the tobacco column in the chamber M determines the vertical distance of the downward movement of plunger I48 and shaft I66, 1. e., ifthe tobacco column is high, the plunger is arrested at a higher level, if there is little tobacco in the chamber the plunger; descends to a much lower level.

To transmit the findings of plunger I48 to the cross feed control mentioned above, the shaft I66 carries a lug I69 to which is secured an adjustable trip screw I18 which is so set that normally during the end portion of the downward movement of plunger I49, it contacts the free end of an arm I12 and presses the'same downward when the tobacco column is low. However, screw I10 is set in such a manner that it will not. contact arm- I12 when the tobacco column is high and it is therefore undesirable to feed more tobacco.

during the next cycle.

Arm I12 is pivoted on a stud I14 (Fig. 1) held by a suitable frame H6. The latter. provides also the support for vertical shaft I42, cutter I46 and shaft [66 and is of identical design as the one disclosed in the aforementioned Durning patent. Arm I12 rests freely on the upper'end of an adjustable vertical rod I18 which, at its lower end, is pivoted to a stud I80. carried by one end of lock arm I30.

As before mentioned, the tension spring I34 attached to lock arm I39 has the tendency to raise the'right side of the latter, to which rod I18 is pivoted, and/or to lower the left or looking end. The downward position of said locking end of arm I30 is checked by either the square pin I26 carried by arm I24 or the stop pin I28 projecting from frame I6.

32 describes. an arc in. the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 during the forward or feeding stroke of said lever and contacts the. pin 92 and depresses arm. 94 to which pin 92 is mounted. The depressing or swinging of arm 94 also causes a:

swinging of arm I24 and thereby causing a disengagementof the square pin- I26 from the: lower edge of the locking end of arm I30 which, dueito the action of tension spring I 34, will be: forced:

downward onto stoppin I28.

When, during thereturn stroke of double lever 32 the pin releases the pin 92 and therefore. arm 94, the square pin I26 on arm I24, due to the action oftension spring. I 82 has-the tendency to return to its original position, but, since the locking'end of arm. I30 is now in a lower position, the square pin I26 isstopped by and comesto rest on the end edge of the locking end of arm. I30. This, of course, will stop arm 94 in a, more forward position, and consequently the L-shaped member I90 in a more downward position which holds the latter out of the path of the returning control plate I92 on lock finger IBI.

However, shortly before pawls'26on arm 30- of lever 32 return to their original position, plunger I48 enters the measuring chamber M and; asex-- plained heretofore, depending on the height of thecolumn of tobacco in the chamber the tripping screw I10 does or doesnot depress arm I121 If there is sufficient tobacco in the chamber; screw I10 doesnot depress. arm I12 and therefore'the position of lock arm I30 is not changed and arm 94- and L-shaped member I90 also remain in an unchanged position. With member I90 out of the path of control plate I92, the U- shaped member I58 upon reaching the end. of the return stroke stays locked to finger I6I and the pawls 29 remain in raised position during the next forward or feed stroke of arm 30. Therefore, the mechanisms are arrested and no tobacco" is fed during the next cycle.

However, if the tobacco is-l'ower in chamber M the measuring plunger descends so that trip screw I10 contacts and depresses arm. I12. tical rod I18 then moves downward andthe look-- ing end of arm I 30 is raised and disengaged from the square pin I26.

I26 comes to rest on stop pin I28. member I90 is then in the pathofthe returning. control plate I92. of'the stroke it contacts and rides onto said L- shaped member and efiectsa. disengagement of lockfinger I6I from U-shaped member I58 which in turn permits the pawls 26 to engage theratchetwheel 24 to feed tobacco during the next cycle..

When, during the upward movement of plunger I48 the trip screw I10 disengages from arm I12 the action of. spring I34 upon arm I30 has the:

9.6 is moved forward as a result of. the action of.

pin 90 onpin 92.,

Secured in a conventional manner to the rear Veri- Tension spring I82 thenv swings lever 96 backward until the square pin. L-shaped.

As the latter reaches the. end.

7 of ratchet wheel 24 is a gear [94 which drives a gear I96 secured to a shaft I98 loosely supported in suitable bearings of frame l6. Also secured to shaft I98 are two bevel gears 20% each of which meshes with a bevel gear 262 each of which is mounted on a vertical shaft 204. The upper end of each shaft carries a pulley (not shown) both of which drive the customary side belts of th cross feed channel C in synchronism with the bottom belt [2.

In view of the foregoing, it will be evident that the crank motion for feeding insures that any play between segment 16 and gear 60, or any spring in segment 16 that might cause undesired rotation of gear 60 will not appreciably affect the length of tobacco fed.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

In a mechanism for feeding charge lengths of tobacco in a cigar machine, a horizontal conveyor belt; a plurality of pulleys; a large driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt; circumferential ratchet teeth on said pulley; a lever fulcrumed at the axis of said pulley; a plurality of pawls operatively mounted on one end of said lever to engage said ratchet teeth to drive said pulley; a gear crank; means adjustable on said crank to vary the effective radius of said gear crank; a connecting rod between said gear crank and said lever to move said lever through a distance equal to the throw of said gear crank; a second lever; a moving cam; a cam follower on said second lever engaging said cam, so that a reciprocatory movement is imparted to said second lever; a, gear section on the other end of said second lever engaging said gear crank so that the reciprocatory movement of said second lever is transformed into rotary motion at said gear crank; means for disengaging said pawls from the said teeth on the return stroke; and a plurality of locking pawls to maintain said driven pulley relatively stationary during the return stroke of the feed pawls.

2 In a mechanism for feeding charge lengths of tobacco in a cigar machine, a horizontal conveyor belt; a driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt; circumferential ratchet teeth on said pulley; a pivoted lever; a pawl operatively mounted at one end of said lever to engage said ratchet teeth; a gear crank; means adjustable on said crank to vary the efiective radius of said gear crank; a connecting rod between said gear crank and said lever; and a second lever comprising, at one end, a cam follower engaging a cam so as to impart a reciprocatory movement to said second lever and, at the other end, a gear section engaging said gear crank so that th reciprocatory movement of said second lever is transformed into a rotary motion at said gear crank to ultimately impart intermittent motion to said driven pulley.

3. In an intermittent feed conveyor mechanism comprising a conveyor belt mounted on idler pulleys; a driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt; circumferential ratchet teeth on said driven pulley; a pivoted lever; a plurality of pawls on one end of said lever mounted so that at least one of said pawls will operatively engage said ratchet teeth to drive said pulley; a gear crank; means adjustable to vary the length of the crank arm of said gear crank; a connecting rod from said lever to said gear crank; a reciprocating cam lever, comprising a cam follower at one end 8. and a gear section on the other end to engage said gear crank and impart rotary motion thereto so that the length of the stroke of said connecting rod intermittently driving said driven pulley is established by the length of the adjustable crank arm of said gear crank; and means for holding said driven pulley against backward rotation during the recovery movement of said operating pawls.

4. In a mechanism for intermittent feeding by a conveyor belt in a cigar machine, a cam operated reciprocating lever; a gear section on the operative end of said lever; a gear crank engaging said gear section so that the reciprocatory motion of said lever is transformed into rotary motion at said gear crank; means to vary the length of the arm of said gear crank; a driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt; and a reciprocating member operatively connecting said crank gear to said driven pulley to advance said pulley a predetermined degree on the drive stroke of said reciprocating lever.

5. An intermittent conveyor feed belt mechanism feeding charges to the storage chamber of a cigar machine, comprising a conveyor belt; a driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt; circumferential ratchet teeth on said pulley; a primary plurality of pawls staggered so that one of said pawls operatively engages said ratchet teeth; said primary pawls to intermittently drive said pulley in one direction; a rocker to disengage said pawls at the completion of the driving stroke; a lock to maintain said pawl in disengagement, a trip member to open said lock to permit re-engagement of the pawl, said trip member being intermediately connected to the measuring plunger of the storage chamber of the cigar machine so that said trip member is out of operative position when the storage chamber of said cigar machine is filled; a second plurality of pawls staggered so that one of said pawls operatively engages said ratchet teeth to hold said driven pulley against backward motion when said primary pawls are disengaged, and a link from said trip member to said second-named pawls operative to move said second-named pawls out of locking position when said trip member is in tripping position and into locking position when said trip member is out of operative position whereby one set of pawls is not in engagement when the other set is.

6. An intermittent conveyor feed belt mechanism feeding charges to the storage chamber of a cigar machine, comprising a conveyor belt; a driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt; circumferential ratchet teeth on said pulley; a primary plurality of pawls staggered so that one of said pawls operatively engages said ratchet teeth; a gear crank operatively attached to said primary pawls to intermittently drive said pulley in one direction; adjustment means on said gear crank to vary the length of its crank arm; a rocker to disengage said pawls at the completion of the driving stroke; a lock to mai t i said pawl in disengagement, and a trip member to open said lock to permit i e-engagement; of th pawl, said trip member being intermediately connected to the measuring plunger f th t age chamber of the cigar machine so that said trip member is out of operative position when the storage chamber of said cigar machine is filled.

'7. A method of intermittently advancing a feed conveyor belt in a cigar machine a predetermined distance wherein reciprocatory drive is taken from an adjustable rotary crank movement so that mechanical inaccuracies resulting from wear between articular members of the mechanism may be compensated for by adjusting the is: h of the crank, and backward motion of said conveyor belt is positively prevented during the intervals between intermittent advancement of said conveyor belt.

8. The method of controlling the feed stroke in an intermittent feed conveyor mechanism in a cigar :lachine wherein a constant reciprocatory drive is transformed into positive rotary drive and thenv back to reciprocating drive and controlling the length of stroke of said secondinentioned reciprocating drive by varying the radius of s rotary d1 ve.

9. In a ..g. machin having an intermittent feed belt, a pulley to drive said belt, circumferential ratchet teeth on said pulley, a storage chamber to receive material from said feed belt, a measuring plu ger movable into said chamber to test the a cunt of material therein, a reciprocating d e pawl operative to engage the ratchet teeth on pulley to move it in one feed direction, means to lift said drive pawl from said ratchet teeth at the end of the feed movement, a latch to hold pawl in lifted position during its return movement, a lock pawl movable to eng go said ratchet teeth to hold the drive pulley against backward motion, and a member operative at the end of the feed stroke to move said locking pawls to engage said ratchet teeth, a mechanism connected to said measuring plunger and movable therewith, a trip on said mechanism operative in selected position of said measuring plunger to trip said latch on said drive pawls, and a link secured to said mechanism and to said lock pawls operative to lift said lock pawls when said trip is in tripping position whereby said lock pawls will be out of operative engagement when said drive pawls are in operative engagement with said pulley.

10. A mechanism for intermittent advancement of a feeder conveyor belt in a cigar machine, comprising a driven pulley operatively engaging said conveyor belt, circumferential ratchet teeth on said driven pulley, a lever pivoted coaxially with said driven pulley, means to reciprocate said lever in a forward feed movement and a backward recovery movement, a drive pawl on the free end of said lever operative to engage said ratchet teeth to drive said pulley in one direction, lifting means to raise said drive pawl from said ratchet teeth at the end of the feed movement of said lover, a latch to hold said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet teeth during the recovery movement of said lever, a trip for selectively disengaging said latch at the end of the recovery movement when another feed movement is desired, a locking pawl mounted to engage said ratchet teeth during the recovery movement of said feed pawl, a device to lift said locking pawl during the feed movement of said lever, said device comprising a lever mounted on an upwardly movable fulcrum, a link connecting said fulcrum to said drive pawl lifting means, one end of said lever engaging said locking pawl to lift it, a link running from the other end of said lever to said trip so that when said trip is in tripping position said other end of said lever will be raised and when said trip is in non-tripping position said other end of said lever will be lowered a greater distance than th lifting distance of said fulcrum by said drive pawl lifting means whereby the locking pawls will always be in engagement when the drive pawls are out of engagement.

11. In a mechanism for intermittently advancing a feed conveyor belt in a cigar machine, a driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt, circumferential ratche teeth on said pulley, a pivoted lever, drive pawls operatively mounted on the free end of said lever to engage said ratchet teeth to drive said pulley, means to move said pawls out of operative position at the end of a feed stroke, a latch to lock aid pawls out of operative position, trip means movable to tripping and non-tripping position at the beginning of said feed stroke to trip said latch to release said drive pawls into operative position when desired, locking pawls to engage and hold said pulley against backward movement, members secured to said trip means to lift said locking pawls out of locking position when said trip means is in. tripping position to release said drive pawls when a feed stroke is desired and to leave said locking pawls in engageemnt when a feed stroke is omitted.

12. An intermittent conveyor feed belt mechanism for forwarding charges of predetermined length to a storage chamber; a measuring plunger mounted for movement into said storage chamber to measure the amount of charges stored therein; means to sever a charge length fed from the forward end of said belt, said feed belt mechanism comprising a conveyor belt, a driven pulley engaging said conveyor belt, circumferential ratchet teeth on said pulley, a, primary plurality of pawls mounted to operatively engage said ratchet teeth; an oscillating drive supporting said primary pawls to intermittently drive said pawls in one direction; a rocker cam memboy to disengage said pawls at the completion of the driving stroke; said rocker cam being connected to said measuring plunger and rocked therefrom; a lock to maintain said primary pawls in disengagement; a movable trip member to open said lock to permit re-engagement of the pawls, a link connecting said trip member to the measuring plunger of the storage chamberso that the trip is moved out of operative position when the height of charges in said storage chamber exceeds a predetermined amount; and a second plurality of staggered pawls pivoted on said rocker cam member so that one of said pawls may operatively engage said ratchet teeth as said rocker cam member disengages said primary pawls to hold said driven pulley against backward motion when said primary pawls are disengaged, and a link from said trip member to said second-named pawls to hold said secondnamed pawls in engagement with said ratchet teeth against the movement of said rocker cam member when said trip member is in non-tripping position and to permit said rocker to lift said second-named pawls out of engaging position when said tripping member is in tripping position.

SIGURD CLAUSEN. JOSEPH A. NEUMAIR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 855,039 Baron May 28, 1907 1,977,994 Lindblad Oct. 23, 1934 2,276,289 Clausen Mar. 17, 1942 2,463,604 Denyssen Mar. 8, 1949 2,470,766 Durning May 24, 1949 

